Gay widower wins historic victory for Social Security benefits in federal court

James Taylor and Michael Ely
Photo: via Lambda Legal

A federal judicial magistrate ruled that a widower is entitled to survivor benefits after the death of his husband of 43 years, which the Social Security Administration had denied him because they were not legally married long enough.

U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona Magistrate Judge Bruce Macdonald ruled that Michael Ely qualified for survivor benefits following the death of his husband James A. Taylor, even though they were only legally married for six months.

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“It is gratifying to have the court today recognize the 43 years of love and commitment that my late husband and I shared, rather than looking only at the date on a marriage certificate that we were denied for most of our lives,” Ely said in a statement.

Ely and Taylor have been in a relationship since 1971.

“My husband was the love of my life,” Ely said. “Like other committed couples, we built a life together and cared for each other in sickness and in health.”

He said that they would have gotten married, except it was illegal in Arizona, the state they called home, until 2014. They got married a month after a judge overturned the state’s ban on marriage equality, and six months later Taylor passed away after a battle with cancer.

Ely applied for Social Security survivor benefits, which are based on a deceased person’s income but given to their spouse if the spouse outlives them.

But the Social Security Administration denied him the benefits because…

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